It is no surprise that financial services providers areundergoing a major transition following the 2008 financial crisisand subsequent reforms. Many are struggling to remain relevant oreven just solvent. Consumers are looking even harder atalternatives and every introduction of new fees or reductions inservices only serves to hasten this trend.

Community banks and credit unions, which continue to make up themajority of financial institutions in the U.S., are on the frontlines of this battle for consumers' mindshare. With consumers' lostfaith in larger institutions, credit unions and community bankshave benefited. However, as large national services firms continueto expand into a larger basket of financial products and investheavily in branch services, the focus for community banks andcredit unions needs to turn to how they can be everywhere theircustomers and members need them to be.

Leveraging the latest in capture technologies, here are someways local institutions can demonstrate their value:

Remote Deposit Capture at Businesses

Jaguar Software, a provider of remote capture solutions focusedon the community bank and credit union markets, has deep roots inhelping smaller financial institutions adopt leading-edgecapabilities. Based in Illinois, Jaguar Software provides an arrayof imaging solutions aimed at speeding-up deposit-relatedtransactions, including POD and remittance/lockboxsolutions.

Richard Leirer, the company's vice president of sales andmarketing, advises financial institutions to “stop thinking aboutremote deposit as a cost and compliance problem and view it insteadas an extension of your customer service offerings that goes rightinto your customer's office or store. Credit unions knowtheir customers so they don't select a program of 'one size fitsall.'”

He adds that one of the biggest mistakes observed with financialinstitutions developing their RDC program is “trying to make aprofit from the customer who signs up for RDC. If doneproperly a well-designed RDC program should reduce back-roomoperational cost, thereby allowing you to offer it at a lower costthan the big banks.”

Mobile capture

According to survey data recently released by AlixPartners oncustomers' mobile banking requirements, mobile remote depositcapture is the most compelling reason to switch institutions —generating both higher customer satisfaction and retention.

Solutions providers such as Bluepoint Solutions and MitekSystems have extended their RDC capability to include mobile imagecapture and deposit. This new offering is based uponincreasingly capable cameras available in smart phones coupled withthe ability to drive sophisticated mobile applications.

The trend is to provide a comprehensive multi-channeltransaction offering that includes ATM, merchant, branch and mobilesolutions that can be offered as a seamless way for customers tomanage their transactions.

Intelligent Deposit ATMs

Extending RDC technology — ATMs with image recognitioncapabilities allow customers access to quick and simple deposit ofcash and checks without having to use envelopes, wait in line oradhere to a branch's normal operating hours. Because these machinescan recognize amounts, they also handle the adding-up andverification of totals and can provide the customer with a receiptat the terminal or via their registered email address.

According to Retail Banking Research, a London-based researchand consulting firm, the market for these “intelligent-deposit”ATMs is forecasted to grow two times faster than the installed baseof traditional ATMs.

Familiar names in the financial services solutions arena, suchas NCR and Fiserv, offer software that drives these newmulti-function terminals. These solutions providers aresupporting financial institutions' increased interest in expandingthe capabilities of these terminals to do even more.

According to an ATM Marketplace study, 41% of respondentsstated that the primary driver for upgrading ATM software was toadd new functionality, such as advertising, or supporting new typesof transactions.

Parting Thoughts

The good news is that all of the above mentioned solutions givecredit unions and others the opportunity to create a more holisticmulti-channel relationship with customers through integration ofnew and traditional points of contact.

Ultimately, new technologies enable richer remote depositservices without being overly costly and give credit unions anexciting way to better-serve existing customers and to attract newones. Even so, remote deposit options should be viewed ascomplimentary services to existing channel alternatives. Selectingand providing the right mix of services for a bank's customers isessential to providing a complete, end-to-end customerexperience.

GregCouncil is director of product management at Parascript LLC inLongmont, Colo.